Kirthiga Reddy, a trailblazing leader and first female Investment Partner at SoftBank Vision Fund, shares her incredible journey from growing up in India to becoming an influential figure in tech. She details her time as a Director of Engineering at Silicon Graphics and the first employee to launch and lead Facebook (now Meta) in India. This episode is packed with invaluable insights, including:
The Power of the "And": How she embraced the "superpower" of having a career and a family, even when societal pressures suggested it was an "either/or" choice
The Career Jungle Gym: Why she chose a 40% pay cut to pivot her career and how her impressive (linear-looking) resume actually hides a series of strategic, non-linear moves
Guilt Management: Her powerful philosophy on not "overthinking" every decision and learning to manage guilt as effectively as time
The "Trust Technology": A deep dive into her new venture, Verix - a company building a verification layer for digital credentials using blockchain, and the pivotal learning that led her to that mission
AI Kiran: The story behind her new initiative to spotlight and grow the community of women in AI in India.
Kirthiga's story is a testament to the power of a growth mindset, the importance of mentorship, and the courage to take a break and find clarity. Join the conversation with host, Erica Lockheimer and co-host, Elizabeth Wendorf-Bloesser.
